NXT United Kingdom Championship tournament semifinals: Trent Seven defeated Oliver Carter (9:15)
***
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Seven mocked Carter's knee injury early on and went to attack the knee, but Carter quickly threw him out of the ring and followed up with a dive. Carter held his knee on impact.
Back in the ring, Seven hit a dragon screw through the ropes on Carter as he was still on the apron on the outside. Seven went on to work over the knee, leading to Carter screaming in pain. Seven hit a kneebreaker and held onto the leg, but Carter managed to turn another attempt into a sunset flip for a near fall.
Carter eventually hit a springboard moonsault for another near fall. Seven came back with an Emerald Frosion for a near fall of his own before Carter countered a Seven Star Lariat attempt into a forearm smash and followed with a missile dropkick from the top.
Carter followed up with an axe kick and scored another close two count. He went for a corner attack but collapsed during the spring. Carter still caught Seven in a small package and almost had the match won. Seven then locked in a Figure Four leglock, which Carter valiantly fought to escape from but eventually succumbed to the pain and tapped out.
NXT United Kingdom Championship tournament semifinals: Tyler Bate defeated Joe Coffey (12:00)
***1/4
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They traded holds and counters early with neither man being able to gain the advantage. After trading shoulder blocks, Bate took down Coffey with a dropkick. Coffey hit the Glasgow Sendoff in the corner and got a near fall off the move.
Shortly after, Coffey locked in a bear hug. Bate fought out but actually found himself on the receiving end of a giant swing. They traded punches and Bate hit a right hook just as Coffey hit a combination of body shots. Bate followed with a spinning European uppercut and running Shooting Star Press for another near fall.
Coffey hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex for a near fall, then caught Bate as he came off the ropes and hit a nasty German suplex before locking in a Boston Crab.
Bate crawled toward the ropes, but Coffey pulled him back to the center of the ring. Bate finally managed to escape by spinning out of the move and landing some up-kicks. Bate evaded the Glasgow Sendoff but still got caught with the double-jump reverse crossbody. He rolled through though and scored another two count. They traded lariats and Coffey actually hit All the Best for the Bells as Bate was bouncing off the ropes with his slingshot lariat.
Both men were down, so Coffey failed to go for a cover. Bate then hit a rolling koppu kick and went for the Tyler Driver '97, which Coffey countered with a back body drop. Bate landed on his feet, hit a forearm, and caught Coffey in a backslide for the victory.
Bate will face his former Moustache Mountain partner Seven in the finals for the vacant NXT UK Championship.
Seven came out after the match and teased getting into the ring but then chickened out. He shouted at Bate from ringside as -- in a throwback to the days of World of Sport -- a granny in the front row berated Seven.
- A video recapped the wild women's division brawl from three weeks ago. Sid Scala announced a four-way elimination match between Blair Davenport, Isla Dawn, Amale, and Eliza Alexander for next week. The winner will be the new number one contender to the NXT UK Women's Championship.
- A video looked at last week's announcement that NXT UK will go on hiatus and be expanded to NXT Europe in 2023. They had lots of social media and news clippings covering that announcement and Nigel McGuinness said he was excited for it.
NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship match: Noam Dar defeated Mark Coffey to win the title (17:29)
***1/4
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Round One
Dar went for a roll-up 30 seconds in and scored a two count. They mostly fought for position for the rest of the round, with Coffey hitting an uppercut and locking in an armbar as the round ended.
Round Two
Dar went for an armbar right away, but Coffey made it to his feet and locked in one of his own. Coffey worked Dar's arm over some more. Coffey got a two count off of a roll-up, then missed an elbow from the ropes. Dar hit a diving forearm and scored a near fall of his own.
Round Three
Coffey started out strong with a clothesline, a forearm, and a back body drop. Dar came back with a leg kick and spinning back elbow for another near fall. Coffey hit a sliding forearm to the side of the jaw and pinned Dar to take the lead. Dar looked to be knocked out. Coffey 1-0
Round Four
Dar struggled to his feet but still was wobbly. Coffey went for a full nelson, but Dar backed him into the ropes to break the hold. Dar still looked out on his feet but hit a few desperation forearms. Coffey went to the second turnbuckle for an attack, but Dar stumbled between the ropes and fell to ringside. The referee checked on Dar and told Coffey to back off.
Dar repeatedly collapsed whenever Coffey was going for another attack, prompting the referee to stop Coffey. Dar then suddenly went for a flash pin and got a near fall. Dar then locked in the kneebar and Coffey tapped. Dar 1-1
Round Five
Coffey went to the ropes again but thought better of it and hit a bulldog instead. Coffey went for the Gator lock, but Dar rolled out of it and transitioned into an armbar, which Coffey turned into a roll-up.
They briefly battled on the top rope, but Dar slid out from under Coffey and kicked his leg out. Dar locked in the kneebar once more with 20 seconds left in the round. Coffey fought to escape and finally did just as the round ended.
Round Six
They traded holds early and Coffey powered out of a guillotine attempt. Coffey hit a baseball slide that sent Dar out of the ring and Coffey quickly rolled him back inside. Suddenly, Sha Samuels hopped the barricades behind Coffey and rammed Coffey's head into the ring post. As Coffey stumbled back into the ring, Dar hit the Nova Roller to win the round, the match, and the NXT UK Heritage Cup. Dar wins 2-1
Dar and Samuels hugged after the match and celebrated in the ring with the Heritage Cup. Thus concludes the penultimate episode of NXT UK.
Final Thoughts
Wrestling wise, this was a tremendous show with three good-to-great matches. It's painfully clear though that these episodes merely exist to finalize the ongoing stories and air matches that had already been taped. Besides the announcement of the women's four-way next week, there were no angles, backstage segments, interviews, or anything else to build for the future, of which we know doesn't exist for the brand.
If you saw NXT 2.0 this Tuesday, you also know who wins the four-way next week. And, of course, we also know the result of the tournament final. Both matches nonetheless will probably be very good.
Overall: Thumbs In The Middle Pointing Up
By: #GeraldRoberts
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